Pagan

[foxyshaman]

On March 17 I will be once again putting on my annual Waking the Bear Ritual.

I just wanted to share some of my writing with you. If anyone is curious about Eros, or any other stuff... feel free to ask. Poke around my site if you like... http://www.changingwoman.ca

Why are we gathering you may ask. And I would say, good question. The short answer, is cause we always do. And you may ask…always? To which I would sheepishly reply…well for years now.

Waking the Bear is the most sumptuous spring ritual you will ever find ’round these parts. It contains… drumming… yes, yes it does. It contains…. singing… well maybe not YOU, but you could if you really wanted to. It also contains (finger to lips…shhhhhh) BEARS. Yup that is true. Now don’t go telling any park rangers we snuck their bears into the hall. Nope, don’t do that. Cause well… I may get into trouble.

Oh… and there is a story telling. Why yes there is. I’m on the trail of a Peruvian story called “Why the Foxes tail is Black“. Now those who know me, know that that would just about make me crazy happy to find a story like that to tell. Oh and there will be puppets. I know, I know… what on earth is an adult doing with a puppet? You will never know unless you come. I can’t give away ALL my secrets here.

Now, if you are just as curious as I am excited, we might just get along. If you are even a wee bit more curious read on. I will carry on my discussion of “Waking Up Bears”.

Spring Equinox is March 21. Now some will tell you its March 20, but hell, why split hairs. Oopps sorry, wrong voice. Equinox, as you are well aware, is when the hours of sunlight and darkness are as close to equal as they can be.

But why Bears? Why Waking the Bear? Cause Bear said so, and if you have ever met Bear, when Bear says something, generally, paying attention is a REALLY GOOD IDEA.

For centuries we have venerated the Bear. We see the Being in the Sky, Ursa Major. We see the Being, Bear, as our Brother. We know Bear as one of the first healers. Bear has come to us in our dreams, in our journeys, even in our childhood stories.

The Constant Dreamers. Bear is forever lumbering across the darkest of the darkest skies, the Northern Skies, never entering light… always dwelling between the places. Bear, although a tough teacher, is also a Being of incredible love and kindness. Eros, the Primordial Being of Love, transformed into many shapes. Bear is one of the manifestations of Eros.

Love can be both brutal and gentle, much like Bear. As the year progresses ever closer to December 21, 2012 we have been asked to spiritually prepare ourselves for a most auspicious celestial event. Like Love, Healing can be both strong and gentle. Healing does not have to be outward to others, it can also be inward to ourselves. Bear usually comes at this time of year to awaken us from our slumber, clean the cobwebs from our psyche and prepare us for the planting time.

Ready yet??

Waking the Bear – March 17, 2012

When we Dreamt the Dark for Winter Solstice we sang, drummed and aspected Eros. We learnt the word “parthenogenesis” which comes from the Greek parthenos, meaning “virgin”, and genesis, meaning “birth”. Just in case you missed that the first time <insert fun wink>

We discussed the duality of Eros the “ two-sexed, two-faced, glorious Eros”. Eros portrayed as a beautiful golden-winged hermaphroditic deity wrapped in a serpent’s coils. I picture the coils of the serpent to be silver, liquid silver.

Eros, in the beginning myths, was that of “coming together of that which has always been separate.” The Unconscious and the Conscious… the Primordial Creative Cause – the element that binds and attracts Spirit and Matter together. The binding together of two aspects of Eros – the penetration & blending energy of matter, with its counterpart and complement, Spirit. Esoterically, Eros is the leading force within a seeker that takes her/him away from a level of duality to a level of unity and wholeness. Eros wedded Psyche – Goddess of our Soul.

Eros bestowed upon us a powerful vision; the passionate bond between the Seer and the Seen. Cosmic Eros “creates living seeds” and harmonizes the random elements of Primal Chaos and Primal Earth into a living world. Eros not only drives all organisms to procreation, but also into relationship with each other: mating, bonding, nurturing, and all other forms of desiring, not excluding hunting and preying, for passion hungers like the hunter for its prey.

Eros is the cosmic force which causes the unmanifest (Chaos) to seek self-manifestation: it is divine love, will, desire; the desire to manifest in creative activity, and thus to give life and existence to all beings. This desire, which “arises first in It”, is in the gods and in all nature. After the worlds have been manifested, Eros then becomes, the ever-active force which brings together and combines the elemental atoms.

Funky heh!! I thought so. And then I asked to be placed in the Bears Den and Dream Waking the Bear. How does a Bear Dream from Eros. How do we gather to Manifest Bear from the “ever active force which brings together and combines”… Bear, The First Being; One of THE ANCESTORS. A sky nation recognized by Beings on Earth. Bear led me on a Dream….

Come on into the Den…. You know you wanna…. <insert yet another playful wink>

On March 17 – Waking the Bear – we seek to expose the soil of our souls; the dark rich soil, much like the Dark – Den – Bear – Slumbers. In. Waking the Bear, our chance to connect with our Constant Dreamer. Bear also known as the Dreamer That Never Awkens. Dream on Mama, Dream On

Give me Your Visions Mama

We seek Bear Dreams the World – the Constant Dreamer, as our guide to waking our Dreamer within. Eros awoke us to the Duality the Unconscious and Conscious within ourselves. Now, we must awaken from the slumber of the Dark Night and put our Dreams into Action. Do we have a clear vision? A good question to ask ourselves.

I do not know what position, or role, you will take in the coming time nor do I have to… our work together for Waking the Bear is just about March 17, 2012. How, you will be, on March 18, 2012, is your own story.. your own mystery… a mystery of which I am not involved in.. but for right that night…you are in My Dream, My Mama Bear Dream, you are all a part of Bears dream to Embody (Aspectors), Aliven (Joikers) and awaken Her Dream (Drummers) … We are all a part of the Dreamer That Never Awkens. Constant Dreamer, Dream On Mama Dream On

We are in very troublesome times. However, as the end of 2012 approaches, my dreams are asking me to become solid within myself (ourselves) and (my) our own intuition BEFORE we reach out to others.

I Give you My Body Mama

We are all gathered here and we are all healers in our right. Bear in long old myths refer to Bear as the Original Healer. It is speculated, and I imagine true, our Ancestors – GLOBALLY – watched what Bears ate, so they too could learn which plants are safe. So, how did they know the Bear stomach would be similar… and not the Dear? Just asking…. We know some of our strengths, but certainly not all of them.

Healers come in all forms, shapes and sizes. All forms of abilities. Some, gasp, even work with the Light. Why yes, yes they do. Shocking to the likes of me… <smiling> One aspect of healing for me is altering the world from within the parameters you have.

Waking the Bear require the Dreamer within each of us, to be awoken (oxymoron I know, but…) to function fully from Higher Self and ourHigher Place.

Much like Eros, the Constant Dreamer, is considered to be a Spirit of Creation. There was a belief once commonly held that bear cubs were born without a physical form, and that their mothers licked them into shape, creating order out of Chaos. The Bear thus became widely seen as a symbol of creation. In Greek mythology it was the sacred animal of Artemis the huntress who, although a virgin, was also the Goddess of childbirth.

Give me your Wisdom Mama

The Bear is one of the symbols of renewal such as is the Moon and the World Tree.

We are gathering together this evening to support one another in our endeavour to become more self-aware. Now self-knowledge is a solitary path, no one can do it for you and nothing can create it instantly for you. Our dial a day mentality does not lend itself to nurturing self awareness.

As Bear is connected with each one of us, each one of us is connected to each other as well. On the Medicine Wheel North is the place of Community. Everything is Community. We are a part of the Whole, whether We are conscious of that or not. Reality does not necessarily require your belief to continue to exist. It can however, be shaped… Reality can be quite the mind bender.

We do not know where the world is heading to politically, environmentally, socially or even human to human. We are gathered here today to Waken the Bear, The Bear is not only a healer but is guardian of the hidden time, the dream time… we are allowed this evening to take an active part of Bears Constant Dream. We will Breathe Deeply Bear, welcoming Her Wisdom through our Drums, Our Voices and Our Bodies.

We sing songs of Bear to all of us and sing songs to awaken the Bear Within.. the healer, the mother, the father… the wisdom keeper. The time of Mudjekeewis is the Evening til Midnite, Autumn, our adult years to elder time. This is the time of slowing down, of taking stock of experiences, of going within, like the Grizzly in autumn, but going within spiritually, to gain strength from the knowledge thus gained; the time to prepare for the times of “winter” or later times. Like Eros, manifest the unmanifested.

If you are reading this last sentence… Bravo, you have a great attention span. Thank you. I ask that you remember we are on this journey together. How can we truly do our spiritual walk and create a global spiritual community without walking through the fires together — confident that we have ancestral resources and spirit helpers that shall guide us and show us the way. All traditions, through their deep mystical paths — often hidden beneath contemporary, obscuring clothing–offer us much. Such explorations together can restore vision to eyes and hearts weary with the conflicts of the world. Thus restored, we can bring sustenance to others — and we need this in these times.